University of South Florida Judy Mcllrath, Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum/SERC

This activity engages learners in examining data pertaining to the disappearing glaciers in Glacier National Park. After calculating percentage change of the number of glaciers from 1850 (150) to 1968 (50) and 2009 (26), students move on to the main glacier-monitoring content of the module--area vs. time data for the Grinnell Glacier, one of 26 glaciers that remain in the park. Using a second-order polynomial (quadratic function) fitted to the data, they extrapolate to estimate when there will be no Grinnell Glacier remaining (illustrating the relevance of the question mark in the title of the module).

Teaching Tips

While developed for undergraduate students, this activity would be great in an Algebra I math class in addition to a science class. Many students will need guidance through the graphing part of the activity.

It would be helpful to link to a geologic time table as well as descriptions of plant biome types for students to look at as they work their way through the first part of the activity.

About the Science

Students analyze data pertaining to the disappearing glaciers in Glacier National Park. They use glacier-monitoring data e.g. area vs. time data for the Grinnell Glacier, one of 26 glaciers that remain in the park.

Uses data from USGS and NPS.

Combines pictoral, map, and numerical data analysis.

This activity was written in 2010 and the glacier positions have changed since then. Refer to updated data linked below.

Comments from expert scientist:
Scientific strengths:
- inter/extrapolation of data
- definition of glaciers and how they are formed
- understanding the repercussions of climate change
- using the quadratic formula
- entering formulas in excel and plotting
- percentage use!
- r^2-value use
- Excellent Excel template - the data analyses comes off as a bit intimidating, but the template is a great transition for students to get engaged with Excel and data analyses/plotting

Suggestions:
- the "hottest years" since 1980 could be updated (slide 6)

About the Pedagogy

Although there is a lot of reading and math in the PowerPoint, the author provides supportive scaffolding throughout that illustrates how to perform the math and graphing functions and what some of the more complicated images represent.

Pre-requisite skills include some first-year algebra and working with Excel spreadsheets to graph data.

The teachers guide is only accessible by an e-mail request with verification.

The slide with the video of glacier retreat included in the PowerPoint is especially compelling.

HS-P6.2:Construct and revise an explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

HS-P8.5:Communicate scientific and/or technical information or ideas (e.g. about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (i.e., orally, graphically, textually, mathematically).